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India's Limited Budget

The shortage of reform specifics could prove to be a good thing.

Updated July 10, 2014 5:30 p.m. ET

The new Indian government's first budget Thursday fulfilled Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promises to transform India, but in an unexpected way. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley failed to present the overarching reform blueprint many expected. And that is good news, because it means India is finally moving away from its obsession with the budget.

In most countries, the budget is just that, a document that lays out the government's revenue and spending policies for the coming year. These might require some measure of reform,...